{"id":3989,"date":"2026-03-08T19:15:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T19:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/?p=3989"},"modified":"2026-03-08T19:43:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T19:43:15","slug":"how-trumps-separate-meetings-with-putin-and-zelenskyy-have-advanced-russian-interests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/how-trumps-separate-meetings-with-putin-and-zelenskyy-have-advanced-russian-interests\/","title":{"rendered":"How Trump\u2019s separate meetings with Putin and Zelenskyy have advanced Russian interests"},"content":{"rendered":"

By James Horncastle, Assistant Professor and Edward and Emily McWhinney Professor in International Relations, Simon Fraser University<\/strong><\/a> <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

The current phase of the war in Ukraine continues unabated into its fourth year, with grinding offences and strikes against civilian infrastructure<\/a> increasingly the norm. <\/p>\n

It is, for Ukraine, arguably the most vulnerable<\/a> that it has been since 2022.<\/p>\n

These developments have prompted calls<\/a> among world leaders to end the conflict. On the surface, United States President Donald Trump\u2019s meetings with both the Ukrainian and Russian leaders suggests a balanced approach. In reality, however, Trump\u2019s actions primarily benefit Russia.<\/p>\n

The Alaska summit<\/h2>\n

After the recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, Trump declared that their summit had been \u201cvery useful<\/a>.\u201d When asked how he would rate the meeting on a scale of one to 10, the president declared the meeting \u201cwas a 10 in the sense we got along great.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

While Trump and Putin may have hit it off, the issue with such an assessment is that it failed to address the underlying reason for the meeting: Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. In this regard, the meeting was far more useful for Putin and Russia than Ukraine and its allies.<\/p>\n

Putin managed to stoke tensions, and potentially divisions, among Ukraine\u2019s principal supporters by not including Ukraine in the summit<\/a>. No other countries participated in the summit. <\/p>\n

\n
\"A<\/div>
\n U.S. President Donald Trump greets Russia\u2019s President Vladimir Putin on Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.<\/span>
\n (AP Photo\/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)<\/span><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This format caused considerable consternation in Ukraine<\/a>, where it was feared that Trump would make an agreement without Ukrainian consent, as well as in Europe<\/a>, where Russian aggression and revisionism is a more direct threat. <\/p>\n

Prior to Trump<\/a> assuming power for a second time in 2025, Ukraine benefited from a largely united front among NATO and the European Union. This unity has declined<\/a> over the last several months, and the Alaska summit reinforced this decline to Russia\u2019s benefit.<\/p>\n

Ceasefire demand evaporated<\/h2>\n

Putin and his negotiators managed to obtain a major concession from Trump at the summit as Trump renounced<\/a> his own recent calls<\/a> for a ceasefire.<\/p>\n

For Ukraine and its allies, achieving a ceasefire<\/a> was a fundamental requirement for any peace negotiations in 2025. This precondition has become more significant as Russia ramps up its attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilians. <\/p>\n

Lastly, the very nature of the Alaska meeting itself helped legitimize Russia<\/a> in international opinion. <\/p>\n

Since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has courted international opinion. It\u2019s been more successful<\/a> than most people in Europe and North America realize as significant portions of Asia, Africa and Latin America remain ambivalent or even support Russia in its war against Ukraine. <\/p>\n

Nonetheless, Russia was always restrained by the condemnation it\u2019s received from multiple international organizations, most notably the United Nations<\/a> and the International Criminal Court<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Trump welcoming Putin on American soil, when the Russian leader is under what amounts to a de facto travel ban by the International Criminal Court<\/a>, undermines these institutions\u2019 condemnations.<\/p>\n

Zelenskyy\u2019s visit to Washington<\/h2>\n

The benefits that Putin obtained from Trump in Alaska demanded an immediate response by Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promptly arranged a White House meeting<\/a> with Trump in the aftermath of the Alaskan summit. And he didn\u2019t arrive alone: European leaders<\/a> accompanied him to show solidarity with Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted<\/a> the European leaders weren\u2019t on hand to prevent Trump from bullying Zelenskyy, as occurred during their last Oval Office meeting.<\/p>\n\n

\n
\n
\n Read more:
\n What the U.S. ceasefire proposal means for Ukraine, Russia, Europe \u2013 and Donald Trump<\/a>
\n <\/strong>
\n <\/em>\n<\/p>\n\n

That\u2019s probably only partly true. Several European leaders \u2014 ranging from the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to French President Emmanuel Macron \u2014 almost assuredly accompanied Zelenskyy to prevent Trump from forcing the Ukrainian leader into concessions that are detrimental to their interests as well.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s pre-meeting social media post<\/a> undoubtedly heightened their concerns. In the post, he placed the burden of peace on Zelenskyy and argued that Ukraine must accept the loss of Crimea and never accede to NATO.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Several<\/div>
\n U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as France\u2019s President Emmanuel Macron, left, and Italy\u2019s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, right, listen during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, foreground left, and European leaders in the East Room of the White House on Aug. 18, 2025, in Washington, D.C.<\/span>
\n (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/span><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Carefully orchestrated<\/h2>\n

Ukrainian officials sought to carefully orchestrate Zelenskyy\u2019s one-on-one Oval Office meeting with Trump. Zelenskyy wore a suit<\/a> and delivered a letter<\/a> from the Ukrainian first lady to Melania Trump. <\/p>\n

These and other efforts aimed to stroke Trump\u2019s ego, and the president\u2019s response \u2014 in particular agreeing with a reporter that Zelenskyy \u201clook(ed) fabulous\u201d<\/a> in a suit \u2014 suggests it was a success. The same American reporter criticized Zelenskyy for failing to don a suit<\/a> during his ill-fated February White House visit.<\/p>\n

Notably, Trump did not rule out a role<\/a> for American soldiers in helping to maintain peace in Ukraine during the meeting. Outside observers<\/a> believe an American presence in Ukraine to maintain any eventual peace is a fundamental requirement for its success.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, while Trump did not immediately oppose the idea, he did not make any firm commitment<\/a> either. Trump\u2019s propensity to reverse course<\/a> on statements that he makes in the moment, furthermore, undermines any firm takeaways from the meeting.<\/p>\n

Hope versus reality<\/h2>\n

Any direct American involvement in Ukraine would also undermine his support among his political base. One of Trump\u2019s key campaign promises was not to involve the U.S. in \u201cendless foreign wars<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n

A move by Trump to deploy American soldiers to Ukraine would be politically tenuous, as fractures are already emerging<\/a> among his political base over his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.<\/p>\n\n

\n
\n
\n Read more:
\n Trump’s changing stance on Epstein files is testing the loyalty of his Maga base<\/a>
\n <\/strong>
\n <\/em>\n<\/p>\n\n

Trump\u2019s cordial meetings with Zelenskyy and European leaders may fuel hope among Ukraine\u2019s supporters in the coming days. But any optimism should be tempered<\/a> by the damage done by Trump\u2019s meeting with Putin. Trump reportedly interrupted the meetings in Washington to call Putin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s unwillingness to make firm commitments at the meetings with Zelenskyy and European leaders means that Russia, on the balance, has succeeded in advancing its interests to the detriment of Ukraine and the prospects for a long-term, sustainable peace.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

This article written by James Horncastle, Assistant Professor and Edward and Emily McWhinney Professor in International Relations, Simon Fraser University<\/strong> and is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By James Horncastle, Assistant Professor and Edward and Emily McWhinney Professor in International Relations, Simon Fraser University The current phase of the war in Ukraine continues unabated into its fourth year, with grinding offences and strikes against civilian infrastructure increasingly the norm. It is, for Ukraine, arguably the most vulnerable that it has been since […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":3990,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"inline_featured_image":false,"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[117],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3989"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3989\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}